


Venus and Mars

by stamets



Category: Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Mean Streets (1973), Scarface (1983), The Panic in Needle Park (1971)
Genre: College AU, M/M, Soul-Searching, drama queen niro, lots of metaphors nobody asked for, niro and al are part OC part based on their characters in mean streets and themselves, this became much deeper than it was supposed to be, when i say drama queen i mean it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:40:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22670356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stamets/pseuds/stamets
Summary: Niro is a failing astronomy student who finds his purpose in life when he meets Al through an unfortunate accident.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 52





	Venus and Mars

The paper slipped on my desk carelessly, and for a second it seemed as though this wasn’t my last breath, the end of my hopes and dreams. The Great F marked on top of it in permanent ink burned in my eyes, and the fire quickly spread to my throat and cheeks. I’d already known this was coming – hell, I hadn’t even bothered to answer half of the questions. I’d been ready for the result then (or at least I thought I was), but now that it was finalised I felt a sharp pain sprint through every single one of my organs. I was never, ever, going to be an astronomer. The stars that I’d been fascinated with since I was just a little kid were now officially out of reach. Those sparkling dots in the sky were pointless, after all.

Fuck it, it didn’t matter anyway. I had a friend who worked at a car company, I could probably get a job there. Fixing cars couldn’t be that complicated anyway, right? And if my failing streak continued even there I could always rob a bank and disappear to Wyoming with the love of my life, who I supposed I would meet somewhere along the way.

I swallowed the smouldering remains of the lump in my throat and got up from my seat before anyone could make eye contact with me. With my back straight and my chin turned to the sky I left the classroom without much regard for the bags on the floor that were in my way. They’d probably talk behind my back once I was gone, saying “who was that? Did he fail?” Well, my name is Niro, and I just got fired from the astronomy program after three years of trying and trying and trying. And I was never seeing any of these people ever again.

Once outside I realized I’d forgotten my coat. I could hardly go back now that I’d made my dramatic exit. Controlling my shivers with will only, I walked to the other side of campus. The sun was shining brightly and the cold stabbed me from all sides. Everything felt hyperreal and at the same time like a dream. I was so buried in numb thought that the voices of the students around me became a big dampened blur, completely irrelevant to my entire existence.

Of course that was the moment my foot got caught on a stray bag in the middle of the path. In a perfect anticlockwise motion I saw the gravel ground come closer until my face was completely engulfed in it, the little stones and dust now as much part of my exterior as the blood on my nose was.

“Oh shit, fuck, I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have left that there, are you okay?”

A hand carefully touched my shoulder to turn me on my back. I opened my eyes to squint at the figure blocking the bright sun above me.

“Oh God, you look awful,” he said.

He was the most beautiful person I had ever seen. I must have stared at him for years in that moment, because I could already imagine us moving in together, growing old, and cuddling softly on the couch in our retirement home. When he held up three fingers I could only think about the three dogs we would adopt in our little cottage. When he held a bottle of water to my lips I could only think about how I would kiss him good morning every day. When he asked for a car to bring me to the hospital I could only think about how I would say one last goodbye to him on my deathbed.

I woke up in the ER, a nurse hovering above me. She held a small round mirror in front of my face.

“You’ll keep the scar below your left eye, but the doctors managed to remove all of the stones in your skin. It’ll just itch for a few days. Don’t touch it.”

I must’ve nodded, because my face moved slightly up and down. I couldn’t feel a thing. They must’ve given me the sleep medicine, or whatever it was called. Damn, I guess I really fell hard.

Suddenly I remembered the entire encounter. As if waking up from an immersive dream, my entire world shifted and once again I could only focus on that one figure.

“Wait- nurse?”

“What is it?”

“Do you know who brought me in? A guy about my age?” I asked hopefully.

My heart skipped a beat as the nurse flipped through her files.

“A man by the name of Al Fredo,” she said. “He left his phone number, if you want to thank him personally.”

“Oh, yes, please. Thank you.”

She gave me a piece of paper with the number scribbled on it, and brought me a phone. As quickly as I could, I started dialling the number.

So his name was Al. To be honest I’d forgotten for the most part what he looked like. It had turned out to be just a split second in which I saw his silhouette. I vividly remembered his wavy hair and pronounced lips. Maybe he had big eyes too, but it might just be a figment of my imagination. In one of our astronomy classes we’d talked about how scientists sometimes create fictional images to visualize concepts, even though they have no idea what the actual thing looks like. Sometimes the images turn out to be more beautiful than what reality has to offer.

All of a sudden I felt an extreme hesitation, and my fingers stayed hovered above the numbers on the phone. Maybe it was better to just let things go their way, and this perfect image would remain intact. I ruined everything I ever tried anyway, so best not take the risk this time. It would only result in heartbreak. If I ever saw him again I would simply blush and look away, and hope he didn’t recognize me. Before turning any corner I would glance to see if he was there, and if so go the other way. My heart would start racing every time I came near the campus. I couldn’t expose myself to him under any circumstances. The mortifying ideal of being known by him pressed down on me like it was the weight of the world. I would rather be locked up in a case, secluded from the rest of the world, than ever risk his rejection. That was how I would live my life from now on, I thought, as I put down the phone.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for coming to yet another of my crack fics, leave some kudos and comments if you liked it so far <3


End file.
